046-Heading to Hemo Port

How many countries are there in the Shinobi World? Probably no one knows for sure.

Unless you drag that deadbeat Hagoromo Otsutsuki out of the Pure Land and make him update today's changes to the shinobi nations.

The Five Great Nations are spread across the four directions and the center, with countless medium, small, and micro nations mixed in between.

The more famous ones include the Land of Rain, Land of Grass, Land of Hot Water, Land of Waterfalls, and Land of Bears.

These are all relatively strong countries with their own independent hidden villages.

With a hidden village, a small nation gains the ambition to become the sixth great power, much like how A San from the Previous Life dreamed every year of joining the UN Security Council.

The Land of Waterfalls was once formidable, even getting a Tailed Beast, the Seven-Tails Chōmei, but after Kakuzu ran through them from top to bottom for experience, they settled down. Now, relying on their geographical advantage, they huddle in a corner and occasionally come out to grab some benefits.

The Land of Rain produced a demigod, Hanzō of the Salamander, who tried to challenge for the position of the sixth great nation by invading neighboring countries, sparking the Second Shinobi World War. Then Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha teamed up to beat him down.

Now they've settled down too, begging to be left alone.

There are also some countries with large territories but no hidden villages, like the Land of Rivers, Land of Rice, and Land of Demons. They entrust all their missions to the surrounding great nations.

These countries, together with the Five Great Nations, make up the current Shinobi World. Since the establishment of the one-country-one-village system, the successive Shinobi World Wars, though brutal, haven't changed the territorial layout of these nations.

What most people don't know is that wedged between these large and medium countries are countless tiny nations, like the Land of Pupils, Land of Claws, Land of Fangs, and Land of Vegetables. Some might only be the size of a single city.

These small countries are founded and destroyed daily, and no one cares.

When famous shinobi in the Shinobi World, like Sasori of the Red Sands, often say they destroyed a country by themselves, they're usually referring to this kind of nation.

It sounds impressive, but it's really no big deal. Plenty of people in the Five Great Shinobi Villages could do the same.

Big countries bully small countries, small countries bully even smaller ones, and the smallest... have no one to bully, so they just take it, or bully their own citizens for fun.

Among all the nations, the Land of Fire, where Konoha is located, isn't the largest in area, but it has the best natural conditions. Most of the country is covered in dense forests with abundant resources.

The land has excellent rainfall and temperature conditions, fertile soil, making it very suitable for agriculture. At the same time, commerce is developed and the economy is prosperous.

No wonder it's always the first to get hit in every war. It looks like a rich guy—who else would you hit?

Is the Shinobi World big? For a Commoner, yes.

But for a shinobi, the Shinobi World isn't that big. One of Madara Uchiha's famous boastful quotes: "The Shinobi World is too small for me to have my fun alone."

In the forests of the Land of Fire, four figures leaped and advanced, moving quickly. Their feet touched tree trunks, making soft "tap tap" sounds.

This is how shinobi travel—fast, efficient, and able to ignore any complex terrain.

Shinobi don't have light-body techniques; their jumps rely on bursts of chakra, so they inevitably make noise when landing. The stronger the shinobi and the more perfect their control over chakra and their body, the less noise they make.

But today, among these four figures, one clearly stood out from his Comrades. His form moved like the wind—graceful, effortless, yet extremely fast. When he landed, there was practically no sound at all.

That distinctive style was, of course, Higashino Makoto.

Wind Release Chakra has the Nature Transformation of lightness and flow. To fulfill his dream of flying, Makoto had spent years honing this Nature Transformation, relying on the ultra-high Chakra Control granted by his Natural Energy transformation.

To that end, he divided it into three stages.

The First Stage, Wind Style: Light Air Technique. By using the light, flowing nature of Wind Release, he could increase his Movement Speed and minimize noise to the utmost.

The Second Stage, Wind Style: Float Air Technique. This allowed his body to briefly hover in the air and perform various agile maneuvers, catching enemies off guard.

At the same time, it was a preliminary realization of his flying dream. Moving with almost no sound, like a ghost.

He was currently at this stage. A few days ago, during the Strength Assessment Battle with Yugao Gekko, he used it. He hovered right in front of Yugao Gekko with no leverage, seemingly about to be grabbed and instantly lose, but then suddenly appeared behind him, nearly pulling off a counter-kill.

The Third Stage, Wind Style: Sky Dance Technique. This name naturally came from Dragon Pineapple's world. At this level, one could fly freely like a bird.

At the same time, Makoto felt that the Third Stage should also be a kind of Wind Release Chakra Mode, similar to the Lightning Release Chakra Mode of successive Raikages.

Yugao Gekko led the way at the front, expressionless.

Uzuki Yugao and Hayate Gekko, while traveling, watched Makoto's uniquely stylish movements with envy. So cool. They wanted it too.

Makoto hadn't held back from his friends, but some things—knowing them was one thing, being able to do them was another. It required talent.

A Commoner's control over chakra had its limits.

As a Jonin, Yugao Gekko had naturally tried it in private. Then he found out—damn, it was hard. It would take at least ten years just to achieve the so-called First Stage. His Disciple wasn't human; he was a chakra Monster.

Come to think of it, if it were easy, the shinobi of Sunagakure and Iwagakure would all be in the sky. What would be the point of fighting?

"Tap tap tap!"

Yugao Gekko landed first: "Let's rest here for a while. When traveling outside, try not to exhaust your chakra unnecessarily, so you're not helpless if danger comes."

Uzuki Yugao wiped the sweat off her face and nodded in agreement. It was her first time traveling at such high intensity, and she was indeed tired.

Hayate Gekko wasn't sweating, but his breathing was a bit heavy. His body severely dragged down his strength—a congenital issue that couldn't be fixed for now.

Only Makoto landed lightly on the ground, looking like nothing had happened.

The three of them glanced at him and said nothing.

Yugao Gekko gave Makoto a look. The latter Sensed the surroundings and returned a hand signal for safety.

Uzuki Yugao was curious. "There are bandits bold enough to cause trouble in the Land of Fire? Aren't they afraid of dying?"

Gekko Yugao sighed softly. "Mostly people from the smaller neighboring countries. It's the War Period now, and Konoha is short on manpower, so they're trying to cash in while they can."

There was one thing he didn't mention—some of them were people from their own Home Country who couldn't make a living and turned to banditry. After all, the Shinobi World was a twisted place. On the surface, it had entered the age of electricity with advanced technology, but in essence, it was still a feudal system of Daimyos and lords.

Some lords didn't treat the people under their rule as human beings at all, which naturally spawned countless roving bandits.

This was a bit too dark. His Disciple was still young and didn't need to know about this yet.

After resting, the four set off again. It took them most of the day, and by evening they arrived at a port city called Hemo on the southwestern coast of the Land of Fire.

This was a major port in the southwest of the Land of Fire, bordering the Land of Rivers to the west. Through the sea routes of Chayu Bay, it connected to the Land of Islands offshore, the Land of Tea and the Land of Commerce on the peninsula, and the Land of Wind to the west. It was one of the Land of Fire's important southern gateways to the sea.